Google Search: Getting More And More Personal (GOOG)

Google (GOOG) is rolling out the ability for users to tweak their search results even more: With "preferred sites," users can tag websites they frequently reference (like Wikipedia for general info or Silicon Alley Insider for tech news) for an extra boost in search rankings:

The preferred sites feature lets you set your Google Web Search preferences so that your search results match your unique tastes and needs. Fill in the sites you rely on the most, and results from your preferred sites will show up more often when they're relevant to your search query.

Which reminds us of another, similar Google program, SearchWiki, which lets users comment on search results.

These new tricks probably won't get used by the majority of searchers. But with Carol Bartz getting ready to light a fire under Yahoo's (YHOO) engineers, and Qi Lu set to reform Microsoft's online presence, Google is showing it knows there's multiple ways to deliver search results, and it's not ceding any of them to the competition.